Flexible coupling



NOV. 15, 1938. W. T CAPPS 2,136,412

FLEXIBLE COUPLING Original Filed June 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. .15, 1938. w` T. cAPPs FLEXIBLE COUPLING Original Filed June 29, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. l5, 1938 FLEXIBLE COUPLING- Washington` T'. Capps, Baltimore, Md., assignor to The Standardv Stoker Company, Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware Original application June 29, 1934', Serial, No. 733,142, now Patent No. 2,074,301, dated March 16, 1937. Divided and this application December 22,1-936, Serial No. 117,1524

This invention" relates to flexible couplings' which are particularlyadapted for use in connection with locomotivestokers. One type of locomotive stoker to which my improved coupling has been adapted is illustrated in my copending' application Serial No. 733,142; filed June 29, 1934 which matured into Patent No. 2,074,301 and ofv which copendingapplication the present applical tion is atrue division.

l0 It is" an object of thisA invention to provide' a novel mannerof connecting a pairof conduits to permitirelative movement thereof while securing' adequate support; for saidl conduits.

W A furtherobject of this' invention resides in the 'di provision ofI a novel flexible couplingcomprising a member having an outer spherical surface, a

ring carried by'said member and having an'inner spherical surface tting over the outer spherical surface of said member, and` a sleeve slidable along theouter surface of said' ring.

' With these and other'objects'in View, the inventionl consists of the features of construction, combin'ation and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings'il'lustrating the invention as embodied in a locomotive Stoker, and inv which drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view, with partsin section, of al locomotive stolzerv embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with parts in section,

ofv the structure illustrated in Fig. 1;

3 is a section taken substantially on" the line 3'3 of Fig. 1; and

, Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig; 3.

' Referring now' to these drawings, I designates' aportion of the locomotive frame, 2 thecab deck, 3i the backhead, 4 the ring opening, and 5 a por*- tion of" the rearl cab wall of alocomotive, and 6 designates' a portion of the tender" structure, 6ay

a portion of the front' wall thereof, and T the tail or slope sheet of the coal bunker thereof, while A designates the stoker `as a whole, which comprises a conveyor or feed unit A on the tender, an elevator or delivery unit A2 on the locomotive, and a transmission or transfer connection or unit A3 between such conveyor and elevator unit.

The conveyor'unit A on the tender comprises a fixed troughshaped conduit' 8 arranged beneath the shovel sheet or floor A4 of the fuel bunker or 50 coal bin of the tender and in communication therewith through a longitudinally extending slot or opening A5 in said oor. In this conduit or trough 8 is arranged a helical conveyor screw S which feeds the fuel forward to the transfer unit A3, from -which it is delivered to the elevator unit AZ. ing A5 in the floor A4 is` provide'diwith adjustable cover plates or slide's;, which may be' openedy or closed at any point" desired alon'g the lengt'h'of the opening toregulate the discharge of' fuel.

The trough 8' i's arranged' mainly at one sideiof thelongitudinal center ofthe declr or floor Afin` order that a comparatively wide space or plat'- form portion A6 may be provided at the opposite side of the longitudinal' center of the` floor to afford greater.` room and conveniencev for`th`e use of the' reman' in' shoveling coal for emergencyr manual stoking operations' and toplace the parts' of the Stoker conveyor mechanism'n proper' operating alinement. A2, which comprises a conduit |10' having' aconveyor screw` II disposed therein, is;,on the other hand, arranged in the vertical plane ofthe'longitudinal center of axis of the locomotive; vsor that,l

thelongitudinal axes of the units A andA2 lie in different vertical planes, one displaced laterially'to one side ofI a central'vertical plane bisecting the locomotive and' tender and the otheri ax-` ially coincident with such verticall plane.

The transfer unit'A3, which comprises a conduit In practice, the fuelv discharge slot or open- The elevator or delivery unit section I2 having' a conveyorv screwjI3` disposed 9 therein, extends'a't' an angle to the bisecting vertical plane between the units A" and* A2 and is provided at its rear' end Withvpan oset portion IW communicating with the side' of the conveyor face,

ing the bisecting vertical'pl'ane andformed'at its rear end with an' entranceway and couplingr spherical surface arranged` to twithin` the bushing sleeve or ring I6'a disposedl betweenthey same and the coupling member I5', the inner surface` I6, as n shown particularly in Figs; 3` and 4, has an outer of said bushing sleeve or ring being of spherical shape and articulately fitting over the complementary shaped spherical surface of the member I6. The outer surface of the bushing sleeve I6a is cylindrical in shape and ts within the cylindrical formation at the rear of the coupling member I5. Thus, the parts I6, I6a form a ball and socket -connection between the conduits, and the parts Ilia, I5 form a sliding joint therebetween,

whereby a combined sliding and articulating joint connection is furnished at this point to adapt the stoker conduits as a whole to have relative backward and forward sliding movements and the conduits 8 and I2 to have relative vertical and lateral articulating movements to compensate for such movements between the locomotive and tender. In order to permit ready and convenient assemblage and disassemblage of the parts I5, I6a and I6, the member I5 is formed in two portions or sections I5a and I5b, one of which is cast integral with the conduit I2 and the other formed as a separate removable part, said parts being flanged, as at I5c for passage of connecting bolts I5d, whereby the parts are adapted to be assembled and disassembled in an obvious manner. The bisecting line between these sections is preferably so placed, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, as to permit ready application and removal of the removable part I5b without interference from parts of the tender or other parts of the stoker. The intermediate conduit I2 is provided at its forward end with a spherical coupling portion I1 which fits within a spherical socket I3 at the lower end of the elevator conduit I0, so that an articulating joint is provided at this point in the stoker line, the portions I5I6 and Ill- I8 thus providing joints between the Stoker conduits 8, I2 and I0 to adapt the same to have free relative longitudinal and universal lateral movements to compensate for all relative movements between the locomotive and tender in service. It will be observed that the transfer unit A3 is so arranged that the greater portion thereof is at one side of its axis of articulation. This axis is a line joining the centers of the two ball joints.

In addition to the coupling and supporting connections for the elevator unit A2 above described, the transfer unit A3 may be partially supported from a portion 23a of the tender frame by a sliding connection, as at 23, to relieve the joint IE--I of a part of its weight while allowing back and forth compensating movement of said conduit as previously described. Wear plates 22a, bolted or 45 riveted to the head of the conduit I 0, may be provided to protect the side Walls of the ring opening from undue wear and abrasion. The construction of the connections between the members I5-I6 and I'I-I8 may further be such as 50 to adapt the members of either connection or both to readily separate when the locomotive and tender are uncoupled and moved apart to facilitate the disconnection of the transfer unit from its cooperating units on the locomotive and 55 tender.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a universal joint has been provided between the sections I6 and I5 in which the telescopic action takes place outside the passage for fuel. It will 60 be further apparent that the ring IBa fits over the spherical surface of the coupling I 6 in such a manner that as the section I5 slides over the outer surface of the ring I6a, the latter does not move fore or aft; consequently, the center of articula- 65 tion of the universal joint between the conduits 8 .and I2 will always remain constant.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 733,142, filed June 29, 1934, for improvements in Locomotive stokers. The aforesaid application issued March 16, 1937, as United States Letters Patent No. 2,074,301.

While the structure disclosed for purpose of illustration is preferred, it will be understood that changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A exible coupling comprising a rigidly mounted end section, a movable end section, said rigidly mounted end section being provided with an outer spherical surface, a ring carried by said rst named end section and having an inner spherical surface fitting over the outer spherical surface thereof, a sleeve formed with said movable end section and being slidable along the outer surface of said ring, said sleeve including a portion removable therefrom and being normally disposed over said ring, and means for securing said removable portion in operative position.

2. A flexible coupling comprising a rigidly mounted end section, a movable end section, said rigidly mounted end section being provided with an outer spherical surface, a ring carried by said rst named end section and having an inner spherical surface fitting over the outer spherical surface thereof, the outer surface of said ring being circular in cross section, a cylindrical sleeve formed with said movable end section and being slidable along the outer surface of said ring, said sleeve including a semi-cylindrical portion removable therefrom and being normally disposed over said ring, and means for securing said rcmovable portion in operative position.

3. A flexible coupling comprising in rigidly mounted end section, a movable end section, said rigidly mounted end section being provided with an outer spherical surface, a ring carried by said first named end section and having an inner spherical surface fitting over the outer spherical surface thereof, a sleeve formed with said movable end section and being slidable along the outer surface of said ring, said sleeve including a portion formed integrally with said movable end section and a removable complementary portion seated upon said first named portion, and

means for securing said portions in operative relation.

4. A flexible coupling comprising a rigidly mounted end section, a movable end section, said rigidly mounted end section being provided with an outer spherical surface, a ring carried by said first named end section and having an inner spherical surface fitting over the outer spherical surface thereof, the outer surface of said ring being circular in cross section, a cylindrical sleeve formed with said movable end section and being slidable along the outer` surface of said ring, said sleeve including a semi-cylindrical portion formed integrally with said movable end section and a removable semi-cylindrical portion seated upon said rst named portion, and means for securing said portions in operative relation.

WASHINGTON T. CAPPS. 

